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 A father has gone missing. Two sisters head into a mysterious village all alone. One sister is separated from the other and her body becomes mysteriously inhabited by nasty demons and all sorts of random, while scary stuff starts going down as the other sister grapples to maintain her sanity. Sound a little like Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly? Close, but not quite, though From Software's latest non-Armored-Core-release, Kuon, owes quite a bit of inspiration to Tecmo's survival horror sequel.
Kuon might appear awfully similar to Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly in appearance and setting, but each game approaches combat very differently. From Software doesn't want gamers hiding behind a lens, instead shoving them into the thick of battle against the hordes of evil creatures roaming the night. In addition to handheld weapons (i.e. knives), there are an assortment of magic spells in the form of collectable cards. Some cards cast fireballs, others summon spiders to fight for you; there are many different kinds of offensive and defensive options to play with. In the early areas of the game, it's obvious that Kuon's locations are meant to be complete bloodbaths. The evil presence in the village is dangerous, maniacal and out to rip anyone who stands in its path to bloody shreds. Often, the bodies of former villagers are being clawed apart in the distance as hideous shrieks fill the air, and as you would expect, the only way forward is right through the creature's direct path. Unfortunately, many of the scares have been fairly week; all of them have resulted from a loud noise blaring out of the speakers unexpectedly. Whether or not Kuon aims for a subtler approach further into the adventure remains to be seen. Arriving just in time for Halloween, it doesn't appear From Software will do much to topple the kings of the survival horror genre, but Kuon definitely has the makings to be a solid gaming thriller. Stay tuned for a full review in the coming months.
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